Maldives evacuates 35 nationals stranded in Ukraine

National Emergency Operations Center, on Saturday, announced that 35 Maldivian nationals stranded in Ukraine have been evacuated from the country.

The announcement was made by spokesperson Mabrouq Azeez at a NEOC press briefing on Saturday night.

According to Mabrouq, they arrived in Maldives on Friday and are undergoing mandatory quarantine.

“And we are currently assessing the condition of more Maldivian nationals stranded in additional countries and providing them with assistance in preparation of their evacuation,” he added.

Ukraine hosts a large number of Maldivian medical students.

All inbound passengers to Maldives are required to undergo 14-day quarantine at a government designated facility, and will be tested for COVID-19 before they are released.

Maldives identified its first COVID-19 case on March 7. While cases had previously been restricted to resorts, safaris, and inbound travelers in quarantine, the Maldivian capital, Male’ city identified its first case on April 15, the 21st person to test positive overall. Since then, cases have increased sharply to 790, and three have died from complications.